FIC: Vacation, 4/?, Charles/Erik, Logan/Marie, NC-17

Chapter rating: PG-13 Disclaimer and story information can be found in part 1. Chapter 4 I hope we haven t forgotten anything this time, Rogue said while

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, Jul 27, 2003

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Chapter rating: PG-13

Disclaimer and story information can be found in part 1.

Chapter 4

"I hope we haven't forgotten anything this time," Rogue
said while
they were sitting in the car, headed to Xavier's cabin out in the
woods.

Logan, who was driving, grinned at her with a cigar squeezed in
between his lips.

"You *always* forget something," he said. "Although you
can't figure
out what before you need it!"

"That's comforting..." the young woman muttered and
leaned back in
the front seat. It was soon 4:30 AM in Friday morning, and Rogue,
together with Logan, her boyfriend for the past two years, was headed
to he professor's old cabin to spend the coming weekend there.

They had had no opportunity to notify Charles this time, since he, as
a total surprise, had gone off somewhere with Magneto. They believed
it was okay anyway, since Xavier had told them at several occasions
that they could use the cabin whenever they wanted. He never went
there himself anymore, so it was just good the cabin didn't go to
waste completely.

"Did you bring the serum?" Logan asked.

"Yes."

"Good... Did you bring your allergy medicine?"

"Yes."

"Did you bring... your birth-control pills?" Logan asked
scowling, in
fear that Rogue might refuse to have sex with him in case she'd
forgotten them.

"I believe so," she replied.

"'Believe'?"

"Alright, I brought them," she said and rolled her eyes as
she
grimaced dramatically.

"That's good, since I don't believe I'm ready to be a
daddy..." Logan
muttered.

"Or then you aren't ready to be without sex for three
days!" Rogue
retorted.

Now Logan grinned teasingly and turned his head to look at her.
"No,
I won't... You can blame yourself for being so irresistible!"
he said
and placed his right hand on her naked thigh and squeezed. Rogue
smacked his hand and gave him a reproachful look.

"No rubbing in the car, please! Keep your eyes where they
belong."

"And where is that?"

"On the road, for example. I don't wish to die in a car crash
when
I'm not even 20 only because my horny boyfriend can't keep
his hands
off me even when he's driving!"

She pulled down her short denim skirt, so it covered a little more of
her thighs than it did before. "We've got all weekend,"
she said
then, to cheer him up. "Try to restrain yourself until we've
reached
the cabin."

Rogue thought of last time they were up at the cabin. It was roughly
two months ago, and it hadn't been warm then, but intensely cold,
and
they had had to light a fire in the fireplace to get some warmth in
there.

Charles had not been there in a very long time, and the cabin was no
longer in a good condition. Probably he hadn't been there since
last
time he was there with Magneto, in the late seventies. That made
Rogue think of Charles again, and where he had gone with his lover.

"You don't know where the professor went?" she asked
Logan.

"Nope. Probably he went away with Mags so they could get some
privacy. Like we do now. And I can't exactly blame them... The
mansion is really no place for privacy and romance."

No, that was true. Especially not for the school's headmaster,
and
despite his responsibilities even Charles needed to get away from the
stress at times and enjoy life, and perhaps something more.

"But I think it was Erik's idea," said Logan. "Old
Charlie ain't that
impulsive!"

She wondered once more where Charles and Magneto had gone. She
thought about a cruise, but recalled that Charles' physical
handicap
made it difficult for him to travel by public transport, like ships,
airplanes, etc. A car, with Erik as the driver, was probably a much
better choice.

"We're there soon," Logan said and interrupted her
thoughts. They had
driven through the small society Dark Score, which was barren and
quiet at night, without Rogue even noticing it. But Logan was right;
they would soon reach the cabin.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was dawn, but not quite as bright as it would be later, when they
arrived at their destination. Rogue and Logan could first see its log
roof peep out between the treetops, and then the entire building,
surrounded by its large, overgrown garden.

Quite a few bushes and high grass concealed Magneto's deep blue
Mazda
to Logan when he parked his car in the garden, although not where
Magneto had parked his, but instead closer to the backdoor, on the
other side of the house.

Rogue looked questioningly at him. "Logan? Where...-"

"Can you remember how stiff that door was?" Logan said.
"We'd better
get in this way."

Rogue had to admit Logan's statement made sense, and simply
shrugged
her shoulders.

Logan pulled out the ignition key and stopped the car engine. For a
while he just sat in the car, totally quiet, and regarded the old,
yet still impressive log cabin, resting his hands on the wheel.

"Imagine," he suddenly said. "A whole weekend - all to
ourselves!"

Rogue laughed and put her hand on his arm. "I didn't know you
were
that desperate to get away," she replied. "Now I suggest we
go inside
and check if it's still the same as it was last time we left."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Logan grinned and jumped out of the
car. Rogue
followed him outside, and she too stood still for a while, watching
the big, dark block towering over them, partly thrilled, partly a
little anxious.

The cabin and its surroundings were peaceful, but somehow the thought
of being alone in the middle of the forest was also a bit
frightening. But then she thought she was being ridiculous. Of course
she wasn't alone. She had Logan!

"Are we bringing the bags?" she asked him while they
approached the
back entrance. There were three steps leading up to the door, and
certainly, a ramp there too, that had enabled Charles to move when he
was here.

"No," Logan replied. "At first we'll check if we can
even get inside
this way. I can't really recall where to find the key..."

While Logan was thinking where he'd placed the key, Rogue
approached
the door, put her hand on the doorknob, not really intending to try
anything when she pressed it down.

The door was unlocked. The discovery made Rogue gasp in surprise, and
she reflexively backed one step.

"What the fuck..." Logan exclaimed when he saw what happened.

"Did we forget to lock it last time we were here?" Rogue
asked
apprehensively.

Logan shrugged. "Apparently. But I think it's alright. I
can't
imagine anyone coming here to break in. Now we at least don't
have to
look for the key! Marie, I think you can bring the food, so we can
get it into the fridge quickly. It will take some time for it to get
going, as you know."

Rogue did what Logan suggested, and brought their cool bag which
contained the food they had brought - it was quite much; Logan had a
huge appetite - while Logan went to the trunk and lifted out their
two bags containing clothes and other things.

When they reached the darkness of the cabin, Rogue fumbled for the
switch and found it surprisingly quickly, turning on the kitchen
lights.

At the first sight they noticed nothing strange, but then the table
caught Logan's attention. What he saw made him both surprised and
anxious. There was an opened wine bottle, two empty but recently used
wine-glasses, two unwashed plates, plus a lot of other evidence that
someone - two of them, judging from the leftovers - had recently sat
there and consumed a meal.

"Marie!" Logan hissed sharply and motioned to the table with
his
head. Rogue spun around at once, aware of Logan's tone. And she
saw
it too; clear evidence that someone had recently been in the house.

Suddenly it didn't seem so strange to find the door unlocked.
Rogue
was instantly terrified and nearly dropped the cool bag. The traces
were fresh, and it was very probable that those who had left them
were still inside.

"Logan, someone's here!" she whispered with terror
shining in her
eyes.

Logan put his finger across his mouth and gestured at her to be
quiet. He used his superhuman senses to try grasping a movement or a
sound somewhere in the house, but he heard nothing. He clenched his
teeth and flexed his jaw-muscles.

"Safe shit!" Rogue whispered and gave Logan a look that said
he was
crazy. "Hell no! I'll be safest with you."

Logan sighed, but he gave in. Probably his girlfriend was
right. "Alright, come on! But be quiet!"

Rogue approached him and seized his arm. She very much looked like a
terrified little mouse, with her large, wide-open eyes and white
face. "What if it's some runaways?" she whispered
anxiously. "Maybe
they're murderers! Or mental-patients!"

"Schh!" Logan hissed. "I said be quiet!"

Rogue said nothing more. She just buried her nails in Logan's
forearm
as they slowly, in stealth, left the kitchen.

The living room was empty and dark. There were no obvious traces of
the intruders. The next place Logan examined was the bathroom. The
door was closed, and with Rogue hiding behind him, Logan snatched it
open, and almost expected to see someone stand behind the shower
drapery, but the bathroom was empty.

There was water on the floor though, and two toothbrushes, standing
in a mug on the edge of the washbasin. There was also a newly opened
tube of toothpaste. Logan's eyes passed over the bathroom and its
content.

"So it's at least someone who cares about hygiene..." he
murmured
quietly.

"Where do you think they are?" whispered Rogue and pulled his
sleeve.

Logan knew the answer, of course. Besides the bedroom there
weren't
any other rooms left on the first floor. And since the intruders had
obviously taken time to eat, shower and brush their teeth, it was
logical that they also felt safe enough to sleep.

"In there," Logan whispered and nodded at the bedroom door.
"Or else
they've gone upstairs. But we have to check the bedroom."

"Do you hear anything?"

"No. But we have to check."

With Rogue clinging to his arm, Logan slowly moved toward the door
leading inside the bedroom. When he wasn't more than two feet
away,
he said, "You have to let go of me now, Marie. I might need to
extract my claws, and then I need free arms."

Rogue was hesitant. "Are we really looking inside?" she
asked, her
voice weak and trembling from fear.

Logan started to move toward the door quietly and carefully. Even
when he stood pressed against it, he heard absolutely nothing from
inside the bedroom.

I really hope they're asleep, if they're here... he thought
while he
carefully placed his hand on the doorknob and tried to press it down
without making any sounds. He opened it on ajar and looked inside.

Two figures were lying in the bed, two males, who Logan immediately
identified as Charles Xavier and Magneto. They were both completely
naked and lay tightly pressed against one another with their bodies
entwined. Their heads were on the same pillow and they had no quilt
over them. Who would want that in this heat? The two elderly men were
peacefully and soundly asleep and didn't seem to have noticed
that
Logan had opened the door.

Quickly he passed his gaze over the room. On the floor he saw a wine-
red robe, but besides that no other clothes were visible.

After watching them for a while, Logan didn't know whether to
start
laughing or crying.

So this is the place you were in such a hurry for? he thought and
almost smiled. Alright, you aren't intruders, but I had preferred
not
to find you here right now.

After a while Logan gently closed the door and backed away from it.
Rogue was instantly there, grabbing his arm. She wasn't sure if
Logan's reaction relieved her or worried her. Did it really seem
like
he was grinning? At least he didn't seem ready to start fighting.

"Well?" she hissed. "Is there someone inside?"

"It's Xavier and Magneto," Logan said with a snort.
"They're sleeping
like dead. They didn't seem to notice I saw them."

"Nah. Look inside yourself if you don't believe me, but
they're
naked. Both of them."

When Rogue realized the situation, she had trouble suppressing
laughter. She put her hand to her mouth, and managed to get out,
"And
now?"

Logan just shrugged. "We're going back home again. What else?
I don't
think they'd be over-thrilled to see us here, I imagine."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Erik suddenly woke up to the sound of a door closing. When he had
gotten over the primary confusion, he noticed he was lying pressed
against his lover's warm, soft body, in a bed. But where were
they?

Right. The cabin.

Slowly he opened his eyes, and found out it was already quite bright,
although not yet day. Dawn? Probably.

Whatever had woken up Erik, it didn't seem to have disturbed
Charles.
The telepath was sleeping heavily in Erik's arms, leaning his
head
against his shoulder, pulling deep, wheezing breaths.
"Charles?" Erik
whispered.

Charles didn't respond now either. It was probably too early to
get
up, and Erik still felt tired, so he decided to try going back to
sleep. But before he had closed his eyes, he heard sounds from the
hallway outside again. It sounded like voices this time. Hushed, dull
voices, seeming to be conversing, but it was impossible to hear what
they were saying.

Erik grew cold as ice. Voices! Unless he heard ghosts, it had to mean
there were intruders in the house! Someone - some people - had broken
in during the night.

Oh, God! What would happen if they came inside the bedroom?

I have to do something, Magneto thought. It might be my imagination,
but I don't think so. I have to check. It is the only right
thing.
They mustn't hurt Charles...

Carefully Erik disentangled from the telepath's naked, warm
sleeping
body and sat up in the bed. Charles didn't wake up, but confined
himself to murmur something unintelligible and shiver. It was obvious
that he missed the close physical contact.

Erik almost let his fingertips brush Charles' cheek. He was
surprised
at how vulnerable his lover looked while sleeping in this large bed.
So small and helpless...

Erik pulled his hand back. He remembered what was happening, and
there was no time to lose. He could still hear those hushed voices
talking out there, and he was now sure it wasn't imagination.

Magneto jumped out of bed and started looking for something to bring
as a weapon. He approached the wardrobe and opened its door. Inside
was a bag with golf clubs. They hadn't been used for over 40
years,
not since Charles - whose hobby had been golfing - last used them.
Erik didn't play golf, and although Charles could no longer do it
himself, he had let the clubs remain in the closet, perhaps too
nostalgic to get rid of them.

Now Erik pulled out one, and gave it an inquiring look. The club was
made of strong, stainless steel. It had to do. He rose again, holding
the golf club, when he recalled he was stark naked.

Erik didn't want to leave the room in his naked condition. He
wasn't
freezing, but he felt exposed and vulnerable. He sighed. Another
memory from the war.

Quietly he bent down and picked up Charles' wine-red silk robe
and
put it on. He had hung his own clothes in the closet, and didn't
want
to bother taking them out.

He threw one last glance at Charles' sleeping form before he
quietly
pattered to the door, pressed down the doorknob and opened it, inch
by inch. At last he looked outside. The hallway was as quiet and
barren as it should be. Wonder what time it was? Somewhere between
four and five AM, Erik believed.

He stood still, pressed up against the wall for a while, ready to
swing the golf club, or even throw it by magnetism. He waited for one
minute. Two. The voices seemed to have stopped now. Had the intruders
left?

Erik almost started hoping that was the case, but he soon got a
reason to reconsider. He heard the sound of a door being opened -
although not the main entrance, but rather the door leading to the
kitchen - and then footsteps approaching him.

Erik held his breath. Should he stay here and wait until the intruder
came? No. That was a bad idea. He was fully visible here in the
hallway, and therefore an easy target.

I have to act *before* he does, Erik thought and with quiet, quick
steps - glad for being barefoot - sneaked toward the kitchen.

A large shape came toward him just when he rounded the corner and
prepared to look inside the kitchen. Erik gasped, but managed to
suppress a startled cry, and swung the golf club without any second
thoughts.

He had no time to see what was happening, but he felt the club hit
something, and then he heard an angry roar. But the figure did not
fall, but grabbed the other end of the club before Erik could swing
it again, and tore it out of his hands with huge strength. Erik
tumbled backwards and collided with the wall.

He suddenly heard a strange although familiar sound, //Snikt// of
sharp metal being extracted.

Erik screamed when two strong hands grabbed his upper arms and
slammed him against the wall once more, only a second later. He heard
the intruder give an angry grunt. Erik raised his head, and for the
first managed to see the man he'd attacked.

It was Logan. Erik's chin almost dropped to the floor when he
found
himself staring up into the other mutant's grey-blue eyes, trying
to
understand what was going on.

Logan seemed equally puzzled. He had a wound in his forehead, which
continued into his hair, caused by Erik's swinging golf club. The
wound closed itself within a few seconds, and left Wolverine
unharmed, but with a thick, angry wrinkle between his brows.

Erik's first feeling was relief, but then came the anger.

"God damn it, Logan!" he exclaimed. "You asshole! You
almost scared
me to death! What were you doing? Let go of me!"

Then Logan seemed to notice he was still pressing Erik against the
wall. He released him at once and stepped back. He still said nothing.

"What are you doing here?" Erik asked, before the back door
was
opened again, and a clear but tired woman's voice sounded,
"Logan?
Did you bring the cool bag? We should be leavi..."

Rogue. Her eyes widened when she saw Logan and Erik stand opposite
each other in the kitchen, both staring sheepishly, first at each
other, then at her.

Erik crossed his arms over his chest. "What are you doing
here?" he
repeated.

Rogue suddenly started flushing violently. "We...we were
just..."

"Leaving," Logan finished dumbly.

"Yes, leaving..."

"I thought you were burglars!" Erik called. "You almost
gave me a
heart attack!"

"I'm sorry," Rogue began. "But we didn't know...
We thought..."

Erik sighed and made an overcome gesture with his hand. "No, no,
it's
alright," he said wearily. "You couldn't possibly know, I
understand.
But you should probably go home. Charles and I..."

"Yeah, we were just going leave," Logan explained. "We
thought we'd
spend the weekend here, but when we noticed... well, that you guys
were here, we decided to leave. I was just getting this cool bag...
I'm really lucky to have this healing factor..." he then
muttered and
rubbed his neck. "You almost knocked my head in, Mags!"

"And you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Magneto retorted.

"Please, Logan, can't we just..." Rogue began, but she
didn't finish
her sentence because a voice, seemingly appearing from nowhere, broke
her off.

"What is going one here?" suddenly Charles asked, and made
everyone
jump. He had wheeled to the doorway in his wheelchair, and was
watching the scenario, anxious and confused. He was clad in a robe,
similar to the one worn by Erik, though his was white. Probably he
had taken it out of the drawer before he came.

Charles' gaze wandered between the other three mutants, and from
there to the golf club now lying on the floor. "Erik,
what...-"

Erik sighed and put his hands over his face. Anyway, Charles was
awake, and he craved an explanation. "You explain," he told
Logan in
a flat voice.

Logan told Charles the same version he'd hastily told Erik, and
the
telepath listed with interest, and filled the missing pieces by
reading Logan's thoughts.

"How did you know it was us?" he asked. "Did you look
inside the
bedroom?"

Logan just shrugged, and if one hadn't known him so well, one
could
have believed he was flushing. "Well..."

"Didn't you see our car?"

"No, I parked mine on the other side, near the backdoor. And you
know
how overgrown..."

"I'll be happy to," Rogue said and gave the professor one
of her
sunny smiles. "Logan?"

Logan looked hesitant for another while, but then he gave in with a
shrug of his shoulders. "Well, okay, if it's alright with
you..."

"The room is all set," Charles assured him. "You'll
be comfortable
there."

"Alright," Logan said and picked up his bag again.
"Let's do so..."

"Sleep for as long as you want."

"Thank you, professor Xavier," Rogue said and let her hand
rest
briefly on Charles' shoulder before she followed Logan to the
stairs
leading to the top floor. They had never slept up there before, but
Xavier was right; the room was all set. There were sheets and bedding
in the bed, and a wardrobe and drawers to put their things in.

The room was slightly smaller than the nether bedroom, but the bed
was large and looked comfortable, and Rogue was sleepy.

Without doing much, they undressed and crawled into bed, to get at
least a few hours of relaxing sleep after the long drive.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I can't believe you let them stay, Charles!" Erik
snapped when Logan
and Rogue had gone upstairs, and the two elder men had gone back into
their own bedroom. "This was supposed to be *our* weekend,
Charles!
That we'd have to ourselves! That is the reason we went up here!
To
get away from all the others! And then they come up here, and you let
them *stay*!"

"Charles, you don't get it!" Erik said irritably. "We
won't have
anything to ourselves! They will... We will not have more privacy
than fish in an aquarium! How could you?"

"Now you're being unfair," Charles said quietly. "I
have promised
Logan and Marie that they can use the cabin whenever they want, and
they could really not know that we were here. I couldn't just
throw
them out. You do realize that..."

Erik snorted. "Well, you know how well Logan and I come along! We
can
barely tolerate each other at the mansion, and here..."

Erik sighed, pulled his hands through his thick, grey hair, and then
took his robe off. His slim, naked body gleamed like silver in the
dim morning light that found its way in through the blinds. He came
and sat down on the bed edge beside Charles. When he spoke again, his
voice was flat and tired.

"We might as well go home again, and leave the cabin to
them," he
said. "This won't suit anyone of us anyway."

"No, we won't," Charles replied calmly and placed his arm
around
Erik's thin shoulders, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I
believe it
can be really nice. If we make an effort. You too, Erik. It won't
work if you won't at least try. You can do that, right? For
me?" he
begged and squeezed Erik's shoulder.

"I don't know if it's any use..." Erik murmured
gloomily.

"Of course it is," Charles said determinedly. "We came
here to get a
nice and relaxing weekend, and we will. But you have to change your
attitude, Erik. Try to be positive."

Erik sighed again and looked Charles in the eyes. "Positive?"
he
said.

"Yes. Can you try that?"

"We'll see," he said finally. "I will try, but I
won't promise
anything beyond that. What do you say, shall we sleep some more? It
is only twenty past five. It is too early to get up."

Charles slipped out of his robe, and they settled in the bed with
their limbs entwined, just as before. When they slept together,
neither of them ever slept with any clothes on. The feeling of the
other's bare, warm skin was so wonderful.

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